Reflector.



R. B. BENJAMIN.

REFLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 12. 1914.

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REFLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED ms. 12. 1914.

1 ,238,483. Patented Aug. 28, 1917 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R. B. BENJAMIN.

REFLCTOR.

APPLICATION FILED ran. 12. I914- 1,238,483. PatentedAug'. 28,1917.

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t REFLECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

Application filed February 12, 19H.- Serial No. 818,292.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, REUBEN B. BENJA- MIN a citizen'of the United States, residing at dhicago, in the county of Cook and-State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Reflectors, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in reflectors, as particularl applicable to the reflectors of headli hts or automobiles, motorcyclesand the e. 1

One 0 the objects of my invention is to rovide a reflector which shall throw a eam of light wider in one direction than in the other, and the reflector which I have selected as being the preferred embodiment of my invention is particularly designed for throwing an ell" tical beam, the reflector being soarrange that the ellipse is hori zontal, so that the beam will have great width and comparatively small height.

. Another object of my invention is to provide a reflector wherein pred' ermined of the direct rays from the illuminant projecting-liyond the reflecting surface are either entirely intercepted or intercepted and redirected. This 18 articular] advantageous in automobiles. the re ectors now in commercial use for automobile headlights certain of the direct rays emanating from the illuminant forwardly and u wardly and are 'g enoughte form a t screen in front of the driver through winch the driver cannot readily see. This screen is particularly intensified on a foggy or damp night. These upwardly pro'ecting direct rays also form a blinding g are in the eyes of ede'strians or drivers of carsappreaching om an opposite direction, which prevents them from seeing, and serious accidents have been known toresult from this blinding glare. By providing means for interceptin these rays the height of the beam of lig t is kept down to a point below the eye of the driver and to a pointbelow the eyes of persons approaching the lights. By providing this interceptor with a re flectmg surface on one side these u wardly projecting rays may be defle downwardly so as to throw additional light on the road. For the plu-rpose of disclosing my invention I have i ustrated in the accompanying drawings an automobile'headlight section to th having a reflector embodying the same. In

said drawings- -F1gure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the headlight taken directly through the axis of the reflector;

Fi 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on t e line 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the headli ht;and

ig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4: of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of a '70 modification of the reflector shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view thereof. In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the usual casing 1 is provided, having arranged therein a concave reflector 2 and having mounted on its front a cover 3 provided with a lens of glass 4. At the rear and in the center of the reflector is mounted a lamp socket 5 so receivin' the lamp 6. For the purpose of illustration it will'be assumed that all of the light rays of the lamp emanate from the single point 7, which is the focus of the reflector. The reflector illustrated is designed as cal p ane passing through the focus of the 05 reflector. To accomplish this result I so form the reflector 2 that the arc thereof in the vertical plane through its axis is a parabolic curve, while the arc in horizontal plane through its axis is a disto nearly resembling a hyperbo a, the reflector being greater in width than in height. The

intermediate portions of the reflector merge from the parabolic curve in vertical crosscross-section, so that the front edge of the reflector forms an ellipse. While I have described the curves as being parabolic and hyperbolic curves, these terms, it will be understood, are relative and have been used "1110 as they more nearly describe the area formed rather than with the intention that the thehorizontal plane passin 00 d curve, more 100.

distorted curve in horizontal 10 terms shall be used in their most strict and limited sense.

By the above construction, as illustrated in the drawin s, the top and bottom reflected rays'wil be reflected in planes parallel or substantially parallel with a horizontal plane passing through the focus of the reflector and the side rays will spread or diver e so that a comparatively narrow beam 0 li ht vertically and a comparatively wide cam of light horizontally Wlll be rojected. By this arrangement the height of the beam is kept down and the reflected rays of light prevented from forming a light screen in-front of the eyes of the driver. Furthermore, by keepin the reflected rays down, as above describ the beam of light will not be so great as to cause a glare in the eyes of pedestrians and dr vers approaching the car from the opposite direction.

To prevent the direct rays of the lamp from forming a light screen in the eyes of the driver and to prevent the beam from be ing so wide vertically as to form a glare 1n the eyes of approaching dri'ters and pedestrians, I provide an intercepter 8 for the upward direct rays of light from the lamp. This intercepter, however, is so shaped that while it intercepts the direct rays pro ecting beyond the edge of the reflector it does not interrupt the upward ra s the angle of which is such that they str' e the sides of the reflector. This interceptor, as shown in the accompanying drawings, consists of a fiat plate secured in the reflector above the illuminant and having its rear edge arced so as to permit the upward rays which do not project beyond the edge of the reflector to astrike the reflecting surface of the reflector. This late is shown as having its front edge parallel or flush with the ed e of the reflecbut if it is desired to in rcept more of e direct rays the front edge ma be projected forward as far as desired. he plate may be supported in any desired manner and I have shown the same as being supported from the front edge of the reflector and at its rear edge supported by a depending arm 9 secure to the upper portion of the reflectorand secured to the rear edge of the plate. The under side of this plate is provided with a reflecting surface whereby. the intercepted direct rays will be reflected downwardly to give additional light ,oh the ground in front of the car. In event itisdesired to direct the rays farther in front of the car this plate may be slightly tilted. Also, if it is desired to reflect certain of the direct rays which project toward the center of the road, aninterrupter may be provided with a reflecting surface which would reflect these direct rays toward the side of the road.

' not strike the sides of the reflector.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a modification of the reflector disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4. In these figures thereflector 2 is provided with a spherical rearward extension 9, whereby the point from which the light rays emanate in the lamp ma be brought farther back in the reflector. his spherical portion also serves an additional advantage which will more fully appear hereinafter. The intercepter' 8 is lowered so that it is more nearly in a direct line with the center of the lamp 6, whereby the angle at which certain of the direct rays of li ht emanate from the lamp will be less an therefore, the rays will be reflected in a more nearly horizontal direction and not at such a great angle, as shown in Fig. l, as to be projected to the ground immediately in front of the lamp. By this arrangement a certain area in front of the lamp is more fully illuminated than when the intercepter is placed in the position illustrated in Fig. 1. The rear portion of the intercepter is turned upwardly to form a curved, crescent-shaped intercepting portion 10, which is substantially at right angles to the intercepter 8. The inner face of this portion 10 is provided with a reflecting surface and this intercepting portion is in the path of the direct rays from the lamp which would project above the portion 8 of the interceptor and the angle of which would be such that they would The direct rays emanating from the lamp and! striking the reflecting surface of this intercepter 10 are redirected against the spherical reflecting surface and are then reflected so that they strike the sides of the reflector and are directed out toward the front of the reflector. This arrangement, it will be noted, projects certain of the light rays at such angles that they fill in a certain "area which otherwise would be left more or less only partially illuminated. A portion of the direct rays of the light are projected substantially horizontally, as has been pointno ed out, and with the intercepter there would be a certain area wherein there would be no illuminating rays, or only a few illuminating rays, projected. By the above arrangement this area is filled in by the redirected rays as heretofore ointed out. I

I have illustrate and described the intercepter and specific form of reflectorin a single combination, and while these two cooperate, it will be understood that the particular form of reflector may be used w1thout the intercepter or that the intercepter may be used with other forms of reflectors than that shown. The combination above described, however, is particularly eflicacious for use in headlights for automobilca. as it not only ives a wide beam of light horizontally, w ereby the entire width of the road will be illuminated, but it 'ves a ,beam of light the upper edge of w 'ch is in a plane not higher than the to of the lamp, so that persons ap roaching e automobile will not be blindiad by the glare of the light in their eyes.

It will thus be seen that the light from the illuminant is divided into three fields, the direct light, the light reflected b the auxiliary reflector 8, and the light re ected by the main reflector 2, and that these light fields are shaped and directed so as to give the most advantageous lighting for automobiles. The direct li ht 1S laced so as to illuminate strongly irectly in front of and at the sides of the vehicle. The 11 ht reflected by the main reflector 2 is lrected forwardly and laterally (but not upwardly or downwardly) because of the flattening of the reflector, and this gives a moderate illumination over a wide extent, both forwardly and laterally. The light reflected by the auxiliary reflector gives a fairly strong illuminatlonsomewhat farther forward and at the sides than the direct light and this auxiliary reflector prevents any of the light from being directed upwardly where it would dazzle the eyes of pedestrians and form a light screen in the eyes of the driver.

Having thus described my invention, what front of said source of I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A vehicle light comprising a concave re flector havingv its axis horizontal, means for supporting a source of light in said reflector, and a reflector mounted inside of said conadjacent and in ght, said second reflector having a substantially horizontal cave reflector immediatel edge lying adjacent a horizontal plane through said light center to permit the direct rays below said horizontal plane to pass beneath said reflector, and having a curved edge lying in the surface of a cone having its apex in said light center and the outline of its base defined by the front edge oftsaid concave reflector, to intercept the direct light lying within said cone above the horizontal plane through said light and to permit the direct rays outside of said cone above said horizontal plane to fall on the reflector, saidreflector having a reflecting surface on the side toward the source of light.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN B. BENJAMIN. Witnesses:

E. R. KING, W. PERRY HAHN. 

